Norma Goicochea, president of the Cuban Association of the United Nations (ACNU), the convening organization PL Photo.

Havana, May 23 (RHC)-- The 3rd Forum of Cuban Civil Society Thinking Americas meets in Havana to discuss health issues, digital transformation, and democratic governance.

The meeting, underway at the  José Martí National Library, will denounce the intensification of aggressive policies and discrediting campaigns against the Caribbean nation, said Norma Goicochea, president of the Cuban Association of the United Nations (ACNU), the convening organization.

The themes of the Forum coincide with those of the 9th Summit of the Americas, scheduled for Los Angeles from June 6 to 10. The host country has not invited Cuba to the event.

Washington also denied visas to representatives of the Caribbean nation's civil society who were to participate in the People's Summit for Democracy, to be held in parallel to the hemispheric meeting convened in the Californian city.

However, the UNCA considers it essential that the citizens of the island territory make statements on the issues scheduled for that meeting, Goicochea said.

The U.S. decision to exclude Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, generated criticism and caused several governments to announce their absence at the meeting if the U.S. insisted on this claim.

According to the head of the UNCA, Cuba has much to contribute to the issues to be debated in this Forum, so she denounced the farce of approving a regional health plan without considering the Caribbean nation. (Source: Prensa Latina)